• Ted Miller believes consistency separates Oregon from the rest of the Pac-12.

You've heard all of the Chipisms: "We have a standard vision of how we should play," "Fast, Hard, Finish," "Win The Day," "Faceless opponent," "Every week is a Super Bowl," etc.If a Pac-12 team intends to eclipse Oregon in the near future, it needs to suffuse its program with that same vision.

This week will be an interesting test of their (USC) view of themselves and of Kiffin's ability to push the right buttons. The jury is out on both counts.Oregon, meanwhile, hasn't blinked while smashing eight straight opponents.It's difficult to believe it will happen now.

The rest of the team began preparations to play at USC (4 p.m. Saturday, Fox) by listening to the Trojans' "Tribute to Troy" almost nonstop during practice inside the Moshofsky Center."It's Day 1 and I'm so tired of it already," redshirt freshman offensive lineman Tyler Johnstone said. "It's going to give us fire down there; we're never going to want to hear that song again. No first downs, no touchdowns. ... It's the most annoying thing ever. We only played two other songs, so that's a total of six minutes that the fight song wasn't play in practice today. We were losing our minds. It was the worst thing ever."

The Ducks showed seemingly effortless brilliance in a dominant victory over Colorado, but it wasn't a good weekend for the Ducks. They don't want the distance between themselves and everyone else to appear this vast. They want the conference to look strong, top to bottom. Losses by USC and Oregon State dinged the Ducks' BCS standing in terms of potential strength of schedule ratings down the road. And Kansas State and Notre Dame both posted impressive wins.

• Tom Ward and Nick Krupke are joined by former Oregon defensive end (1997-2000) Saul Patu as they talk about the win over Colorado.Oregon segment starts at 8:16.

• Marcus Mariota believes he will deliver if ever needed late in a game in a pressure filled situation.

When asked if he was looking forward to entering the fourth quarter of a close contest, Mariota smiled and said he couldn't wait for the opportunity. "I'm a competitor and this is something that as a kid, you want to play in these games and play when it's all on the line," Mariota said.

• Bob Clark reports injuries might be an issue with some key folks on the sidelines against Colorado.

Oregon controls it destiny in the race to reach the BCS Championship game. Not only do most experts' bowl projections have the Ducks facing Alabama for the title, ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit said tonight on the telecast of the new standings that he agrees."Oregon will control its own destiny," Herbstreit said. "If Oregon wins out, they ultimately will finish in the top two."

Nov. 3 has gone splat:In the preseason, it looked perfectly reasonable to imagine that the Big Show meeting between USC and Oregon was going to match up 8-0 teams. Oregon kept its side of the bargain. In spades. USC? Not so much. The Trojans arrive with two losses. USC's role on Saturday is spoiler for the Ducks' national title hopes. That's the role of a character actor.

• Aaron Fentress and a lot of the media were interested to see what Nick Aliotti had to say about next weeks game against USC. After being hammered with questions Aliotti finally said....

"We all know that they have a good quarterback," he said. "We all know that they have good receivers. Not like it's a secret. And we all know that they have a good team." Good enough to at least create the illusion of a good matchup.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

• Rob Moseley reports Oregon is focused on Colorado this week but also games further down the road.

Quite literally, opponents are using games against the Buffaloes as de facto scrimmages.Were Oregon to do anything similar, Chip “Win the Day” Kelly would of course never acknowledge it. But the Ducks do enter Saturday’s visit from the Buffaloes with an eye toward the future in at least one respect — Colorado’s pro-style offense is a sign of things to come.

• Aaron Fentress calls the game today a warm up for the USC game next week.

Oregon has scored at least 30 points in 20 consecutive games dating back to last season, which is now the longest active streak in FBS (Oklahoma State’s 22-game streak ended earlier this season). It’s also the third-longest such streak in FBS history.

• Adam Jude states the Oregon defense is simply red hot in the red zone.

Oregon is thriving in those situations, playing not only better than any Ducks' defense in recent memory, but also ranking No. 1 in the nation in red-zone defense, allowing 15 scores in opponents' 29 trips inside the UO 20-yard line. It's that type of defensive success that might make this the Ducks' best shot yet at winning a national championship.

• Chip Kelly talks with reporters after practice yesterday. Video courtesy of ODE.• As usual, Chip is pleased with Oregon's preparation for Colorado.One thing Chip Kelly has stressed in his program is the benefits of a routine — practice in the morning, meetings in the evening, classes in between. Rinse, dry, repeat. • Rob Moseley reports on the value of Michael Clay being on the field.Clay, a “glue guy” and “coach on the field” for the UO defense — depending on which coach is describing him — is the vocal linchpin for the Ducks. Nobody processes information as well as the senior linebacker; he makes sure the front seven is set before the snap, and stays in touch with the secondary.• Ken Woody wonders what the foul smell is coming from the Pac-12's replay routine?• Ted Miller and Kevin Gemmell both have predicted a big win for Oregon on Saturday. No shocker there.• Charles @FishDuck.com and Aaron Fentress both wonder what's up with DAT?Charles' thoughts:Free De'Anthony! Make sure he has nine catches in this game and send him long three times. Future opponents will double-cover Thomas and when we drag Huff and Lyerla across in medium patterns, they’ll be wide open. Sending De'Anthony on streaks or posts has Win-Win results as it helps him, it helps our other receivers, and it helps our offensive balance. Free De'Anthony! Make it Rough on the Buffs.GO DUCKS!

Rushed for 143 yards (8.9 average) with three touchdowns, including a 71-yard score, in the win over Arizona State. He sat out the fourth quarter. For the year, he ranks 10th in the nation and second in the Pac-12 with 124.29 yards per game. He leads conference running backs with 12 TDs.

"It's really cool that somebody is looking at me in that way and they have respect for me as a player to put me on a list like that," he said. "But personally I think I could be doing a lot better than I am now."

Mariota’s freshman season has been nothing but a success. He’s quarterbacked the second-ranked Ducks to seven victories entering Saturday’s game against Colorado, and his individual numbers are headed for the record books as well.If he throws three touchdown passes against the Buffaloes, he’ll match the conference record of 19 touchdown passes by a freshman. Mariota is within 115 yards of the total offense record (rushing and passing yards) for a UO freshman. His completion percentage of .683 currently exceeds the UO record for a season.

• Charles @FishDuck.com breaks down a new play he calls the "power read play" used against ASU in this article.

I do not know where Chip Kelly comes up with all these new wrinkles, but as someone who studies his Offense, I find that it has become an analyst’s paradise with each weekly discovery. The Arizona State game was particularly subject rich, as we saw formations, motions and plays from nearly two years ago, last year…and NEVER BEFORE SEEN.

Bottom line, among the punt and kickoff teams Thursday [ASU game], both kicking and returning, “all four units, they all got better, which is our goal each week,” Tom Osborne said. “We all want perfection, but they got better, and that’s what we ask them to do.”

From Aaron: Early prediction:The perfect day for a UO fan could include brunch, tailgating, in stadium by noon and then out by 1:30 to catch a matinee after Oregon goes up 40 in the first half before slamming on the brakes. UO 67, Colorado 16.

• Marcus Mariota is listed as a semi-finalist for the Davey O'Brien Award and Dion Jordan is on the Butkus Award semi-finalist list.

Oregon fumbled on its first possession at Arizona State and immediately yielded a touchdown. Ah, here's that road test we were talking about! Then the Ducks opened up a can of whup-butt and throttled the Sun Devils in one of the most dominating halves of football this season. Sure, the final was only 43-21. But it was 43-7 at the break, which allowed the Ducks to rest many of their starters much of the second half. Some test.

Yet, and still, the Ducks slipped in the polls because their schedule strength pales in comparison to Alabama (first in the BCS), Florida (second) and Kansas State (third). Also lacking is Oregon's minutes logged in meaningful games where true competition stretches into the second half. Fortunately for Oregon, it will have a chance to impress the computers with games remaining at No.10 USC, at home against No.19 Stanford and at No.7 Oregon State.

• Jackson Long wonder is the Ducks could play for four quarters if the need arises against a tough opponent.

The biggest question that remains is what happens when the Ducks have to play a full 60 minutes. We know they can crush the opponent by halftime, so second-half effort is practically uncalled for, but what will happen when a team like USC or maybe Oregon State (!) asks more of Oregon?So while the first units aren’t playing much in the home stretch, what is to say they can’t replicate their first-half efforts in the later stages? If the Ducks keep rolling, we may never find out.

• Joel @FishDuck.com wonders if Chip is taking kindness too far when it comes to easing off in the second half.

For the modern day Ducks, however, it’s national championship or bust. The only way to get there is to show no mercy.Chip needs to wake up and realize that this is big boy football. Being sportsmanlike is all fine and dandy when you’re in high school, but the stakes are much higher.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

• Marcus Mariota earned a helmet sticker for his performance against the Sun Devils.

There was a strong temptation to give Oregon’s sticker to Kenjon Barner – who is clearly the centerpiece of the offense and by far its greatest contributor. But all last week we questioned how Mariota would perform in his first “real” away game. The result was a statistical cycle of a rushing, a passing and a receiving touchdown in a 43-21 win over Arizona State. The uniqueness of that was enough to give him the nod over Barner.

• Joel @FishDuck.com believes we are seeing the rebirth of Oregon players playing multiple positions and he makes a good case in this article.

• Ted Miller mentions Oregon in his "what we learned in the Pac-12" this week.

Oregon passes its road "test": Arizona State was supposed to provide Oregon and quarterback Marcus Mariota a tough road test -- good team, tough venue. Nope. Game was over at halftime, when it was 43-7. The Ducks pulled Mariota and many of their starters in the second half and coasted home, but they made their statement. While some have pulled out the "Arizona State lost to Missouri" card, the Ducks' dominance was notable. They play host to Colorado on Saturday. Then ... drum roll, please ... they visit USC.

• John Canzano has three words on Oregon's domination of ASU and one of them is "proof."

If you were like me, you wanted to see how Oregon would respond to being on the road, against a good team in a hostile environment. The 43-point run put the crowd in a coma here, but the performance caused it. So yeah. The Ducks responded. Mariota responded. The offense responded. The defense responded. I wasn't sure ASU would come out for the second half.

• So how impressive was that first half last night? Except for the miscue on the second play from scrimmage Oregon completely throttled an over matched Sun Devil team. Even their head coach, Todd Graham, admitted they "hit by a hammer."

• Tons of good reading this morning so lets get started. John Canzano called it a brilliant display (good read) and wonders if this could be the year; Ken Woody says ASU just another pretender; Ted Miller called it a curb stomping (gotta love that reference); Bob Clark is impressed with the defense; Aaron Fentress asks what big test?; Adam Jude was impressed with Mariota's TD pass to Addison; the FishDuck.com crew have their usual full coverage article with pictures and video; Rob Moseley has his usual excellent game story; Steve Summers called it a smashing good time; Dale Newton states "maybe the Ducks are just that good;" ESPN and GoDuck.com round out the game coverage.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Oregon hasn't played against a defense like Arizona State's. The Sun Devils haven't played against an offense like Oregon's. Something has to give. UO's balance on both sides wins the night. Oregon 43, Arizona State 24.

• Ted Miller wonders if the ASU defense and hostile crowd will be too much for Marcus Mariota to handle in the game tonight.

• Rob Moseley notes special teams need to improve on consistency as we head into the meat of the schedule.

This week is quite simple for the Ducks: If they can control the defensive line of ASU, they will be fine. The Devils secondary, led by safety Alden Darby, has been solid due to the incredible pass rush provided to them. If the Ducks can give Mariota just a split second more time to operate, then he should find receivers open down field.

• Personally, I give Oregon the edge after starting slow but pulling away in the second half. Oregon 42-ASU 24. I like Dave's idea for the uni's, good old Storm Trooper but with a new helmet, white lightning.

Already without injured senior safety John Boyett, its most experienced defender, for the rest of the season, Oregon will likely have its defensive depth tested more at Arizona State on Thursday night.

It’s not always easy for a player to return home for a game, and not either feel some extra pressure, or simply be challenged by making sure he’s come up with enough tickets for all those friends and family members.Steve Greatwood (offensive line coach) said his sense is that Johnstone will handle the situation.

• Rob Moseley thinks the Ducks might have more difficulty with the fans in the stands at ASU rather than any perceived heat issues.

• Josh S. @FishDuck.com analyzes the ASU defense and concludes they pose the toughest test so far this season.

The Ducks dominated a cheesecake early schedule as expected, and then answered any national questions with a dominant show on both sides of the ball in 49-0 win over No. 22 Arizona. The Ducks then essentially doubled up Washington State and Washington, which allowed them to climb to No. 2 in the human polls and No. 3 in the official BCS standings released this past Sunday. The second-half schedule is far more arduous, starting with a road date at Arizona State on Thursday. But the Ducks, strong on both sides of the ball, look like a team that could win college football's biggest prize.

ASU's defense gave Oregon trouble last season before the Ducks got rolling in the second half and won 41-27. Then again, ASU has yet to face an offense the caliber of Oregon's. An upset is possible but not probable. UO 43, ASU 24.

• Ted Miller has his Pac-12 power rankings updated where you will still find Oregon at number one.

"I would still say with our kicking game, I guess, the jury's out in terms of where we are," UO coach Chip Kelly said."I'm trying to get better and better," said Beard, who has converted all 40 of his point-after tries and even scored a two-point conversion on a pass from punter Jackson Rice. "You can't dwell on the misses and I haven't been. I kicked well today and I'm hoping to kick well tomorrow ... and then come Thursday, I'm just going to kill it.""I have all the confidence I can do it."

• Ted Miller believes ASU will be the toughest test so far for Oregon this season.

• Jim @FishDuck.com takes a look back at the original gang green defense. The 1958 Ducks.

• Rob Moseley says DeForest Buckner exemplifies the trend of freshmen earning a position in the rotation on defense.

When DeForest Buckner was being recruited by Oregon out of Punahou School in Honolulu ...UO defensive line coach Jerry Azzinaro was upfront about the potential for early playing time.Work hard enough, Azzinaro told Buckner, and there was a chance to crack the Ducks’ primary rotation on the line of eight guys, give or take.Buckner, a 6-foot-7, 230-pound end who also lettered four times in basketball for Punahou, did just that, and was on the field for the Ducks’ opener this season.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

• Joel @FishDuck.com continues with the halfway point theme but warns the second half won't be quite as easy.

So many variables can come into play in college football, that fans must keep a level head and just enjoy what is happening. This team is young, and getting better by the week. What the rest of the season has in store, we don’t know yet.

Just like always, they have to finish the job. The challenges ramp up. The attention and distractions increase with every win.If they stay committed and execute, this could be the most memorable year imaginable.

• GoDucksdotcom shares the motivational video shown to the football team just before the Washington game.

• Josh S. @FishDuck.com doesn't think Oregon needs to make a statement against ASU next week, just take care of business.

When it’s all said and done, though, Oregon still has the better team from top to bottom. If the Ducks stick to business, and don’t let a typical slow start extend to the second half, Oregon will be sitting pretty at 7-0, and would be favored by at least two possessions in each of its remaining games.

• Ken Goe states the obvious when detailing why Chip Kelly is more interested in winning games than grooming potential NFL players.

• Josh S. @FishDuck.com takes a look at the good and bad of a 6-0 start. On the good side is Marcus Mariota.

Marcus Mariota has been GREAT. What else can you say about the redshirt freshman? He’s got a live arm, and he is accurate. When he takes off, he is fast enough to take it to the house, but his quickness also helps out in avoiding pressure and extends plays – the touchdown pass to Josh Huff against Washington being a prime example.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

• Rob Moseley has a good read on the progress of Jeff Lockie and Jake Rodrigues as the redshirting freshmen play on the practice squad or prepare as the third quarterback behind Mariota and Bennett.

For Lockie, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound native of Danville, Calif., and Rodrigues, a 6-3, 218-pounder from Rocklin, Calif., those practice reps figure to be the closest they’ll get to the field this season for No. 2 Oregon, which is 6-0 and currently enjoying a bye week. Each quarterback has been tabbed for a redshirt, Lockie practicing behind Mariota and Bennett with Oregon’s offense, and Rodrigues helping run the scout team against the UO defense.

• David Piper @ATQ dispels the myth that Oregon can't hang with the SEC elite teams.

• Ted Miller compares the Pac-12 leaders in most of the national stat categories, you'll find Oregon mentioned frequently.

• The Boston Globe details how Chip Kelly has influenced Bill Belichick and the Patriot offense.

Kelly’s overall message to the Patriots: Don’t put a limit on your players’ minds; they will learn whatever you teach them.“I was interested to hear how he did it,” Belichick said. “I would say he expanded it to a different level and it was very interesting to understand what he was doing. Certainly I've learned a lot from talking to Chip about his experiences with it and how he does it and his procedure and all that.”

Tuesday, October 09, 2012

• GoDucks.com gives you an All Access tour of the Mo Center and shows you how it transforms from a practice facility to a gathering venue for game day.

• Charles @FishDuck.com breaks down the new "double-power" play that was utilized against the Dawgs. Here is how the article starts:

There are few pleasures in life that are as satisfying as Oregon’s perennial dog-pounding of Washington each fall over the last nine years. This last game was one of the most enjoyable because so many of the Husky faithful and their coach felt that enough Washington depth had been built to hang with us.

“There’s a lot of things we need to continue to work on,” Kelly said. “We’ll give them a couple of days off in between practices. … There’s a little rest in there, but we still have to get better as a football program.”Arizona State figures to present the toughest challenge yet for Oregon, and particularly its young quarterback, Marcus Mariota, who showed so much development against the Huskies on Saturday.

• Matt Walks has a nice piece on the complete turn around of Kiko Alonso.

The 6-foot-4, 242 pound force has been asked to step up this year...it’s his play on the field that has made a statement this year...If his Renaissance continues, expect to hear his name called early in next year’s NFL Draft.

• Aaron Fentress is hoping the second half of the season will hold more intrigue than the first half for the Ducks.

Scoring 152 over three games in Pac-12 play is evidence that Oregon is simply playing at a different level than the rest of the conference.The second half of Oregon's schedule poses some potential challenges. The Ducks face games at Arizona State, at USC, at Oregon State, at California and at home against Stanford. But as of now, the Ducks appear to be the class of the conference until another team proves it can at least raise the degree of difficulty on Oregon and provide something resembling a challenge.

• Impressive victory by the Ducks last night in, to this point, their most complete game against a Pac-12 team. You can see Mariota make better decisions from week to week and the defense is one of the best I have ever seen from an Oregon team. Still a long way to go but you have to feel pretty confident about this team.

In the biggest game of his young career, Mariota tossed four touchdown passes and completed 15 of 24 balls to lead the Ducks to yet another blowout win -- 52-21 this time -- over the Washington Huskies. He also ran for 40 yards on seven carries and kept plays alive with his feet. He had one pick, but for the most part he showed good decision making on when to throw and when to throw it away. The Pac-12 blog sees marked improvement in Mariota each week.

• Ted Miller breaks down "what we learned" in the Pac-12 this week and guess who tops the list?

Oregon is the clear favorite -- in the Pac-12 and for national title game:At the beginning of the season, USC was the Pac-12 favorite and the conference's clear national title contender. After six games, that has firmly changed, and the apparent distance between Oregon and everyone else in the conference appears vast. While it's dangerous to do the transitive property -- a frequent note of ours -- just consider what Oregon did to Arizona and then Washington. And what those teams have done in their other games. Oregon will be a strong No. 2 in the national polls this week, which means they are in excellent position to play for the national title for the second time in three years. And, of course, win a fourth consecutive conference title.

• Fowlplay2010 shares his "fan perspective video of the game against WSU.

• Rob Moseley says, between preparation and adjustments, Oregon is usually a step ahead.

Washington held Stanford to just two field goals last week by bringing extra players up to the line of scrimmage to stop the run...Oregon expects more of the same Saturday night.“We have things set up that we've prepared for all throughout practice that allow for us to do different things for what we expect from them,” said running back Kenjon Barner, who was such a key to the second-half explosion against WSU. “If they get in a set, what we expected them to do, we have plays we can capitalize off that.”

• Aaron Fentress previews the game against the Huskies but says they lack the offense to pose any serious threat.

• John Canzano has a good story on Nick Saban's transparent attack on the Ducks and calls it laughable.

• Rob Moseley gives his prediction (23 point Oregon win) and will be interested to see:

...how "clean" a performance Oregon can put together. Penalties and turnovers and special teams breakdowns are going to happen to the best of teams. But you want to minimize them as much as possible, and show over the course of the season you're improving in your execution. How many nits will there be to pick over come Sunday?

Friday, October 05, 2012

• Nick Aliotti talks about his former student Justin Wilcox and his growth into a coaching role with Washington. Video courtesy of KEZI.

• Dale Newton thinks it might me a mistake for Chip Kelly not to honor the long, bitter rivalry between the Ducks and the Dawgs.

In the case of this week's rivalry showdown with the Washington Huskies, Chip is making an egregious mistake in downplaying the significance of the game and its history. Oh, you get what he's saying about preparing for every opponent in the same way, but this really is different, for a couple of reasons.

"I think guys are going to have to defend other people as well, and when they start defending other people, then De'Anthony's going to start showing up again," Campbell said. "He's a weapon no matter when he's on the field. If people are watching him, they're going to leave other people open."

• Ted Miller updates his superlative tracker and DAT is still at the top.

Thomas scored a touchdown against Washington State but it was a relatively quiet game for him. For the season, he's rushed for 302 yards (9.7 yards per carry) with five touchdowns and caught 19 passes for 193 yards and three TDs.